Wake County District Court Judge Donald Overby sentenced Whitford to a 30-day prison term. The sentence was suspended and Whitford was placed on unsupervised probation for one year. He was also ordered to pay a $500 fine and cost of court.

An investigation by a special agent with the North Carolina Department of Revenue found that Whitford had gross income of $51,152 in 2000, $60,133 in 2001, $71,221 in 2002, and $79,188 in 2003.

The charges against Whitford resulted from an investigation by an auditor in the Greenville Field Audit Office and a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh.